PHILLIES: Galvis fighting MRSA; Ruf to DL

Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis fields a ball while working out before an exhibition game in Port Charlotte, Fla., earlier this spring. Galvis is battling MRSA and will start the season on the disabled list. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

CLEARWATER, Fla. — If the Phillies wanted to have Freddy Galvis cut into Jimmy Rollins’ playing time this season, that won’t happen anytime soon.

Friday morning the Phillies announced Galvis went to the hospital with a staph infection that had infiltrated a cut on his left knee. Earlier in the week, the Phils’ utility man had an abscess on the knee removed, with the expectation being that he’d need a few days to heal.

After the Phillies and Red Sox played to a 2-2, 10-inning draw at Bright House Field, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced that the infection Galvis had in his knee was MRSA, short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which has wreaked havoc in other professional sports locker rooms in recent years.

“Right now we’re more concerned with his overall health more than anything else,” Amaro said of Galvis, who was hitting .118 (4-for-34) in 13 Grapefruit League games. “He’s going to be in the hospital for a little bit, I don’t know how long.

Advertisement

“He’s getting hit pretty hard with antibiotics right now. We do not have any time frame because of the severity of what the MRSA is. I don’t know enough about it to know how long it would be. Clearly he’s going to start the season on the (disabled list). Hopefully the infection gets out of his body as quickly as possible.”

MRSA can be more than a brief setback for an athlete. Last year three Tampa Bay Buccaneers were diagnosed with MRSA during the preseason, and although cornerback Jonathan Banks’ case didn’t require him to miss any games, offensive lineman Carl Nicks played just two games and had a recurrence of his infection in his big toe, while kicker Lawrence Tynes sat out the entire season because of MRSA.

It’s difficult to know how or where, exactly, Galvis picked up the infection. His issues started with a cut on his knee that resulted in an abscess forming. That was removed by a doctor in the middle of the week, and it would seem the infection occurred around that time, since MRSA leads to quick and severe symptoms, usually within a day or two of infection.

However, even if the MRSA wasn’t picked up within the Phillies’ clubhouse, Galvis was there Thursday, albeit with his leg wrapped, limping around severely. To be on the safe side, the Phillies were having their clubhouse staff arrange for what Amaro described as, “a bombing” of the room with disinfectants.

“We’ll take the proper precautions,” said Amaro, who added that head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan makes an annual speech to the players about the dangers of MRSA. “Unfortunately, when you’re in a clubhouse with 60-plus people or whatever it was, this kind of stuff can happen. If you see everyone’s locker, every single guy has that disinfectant stuff.”

Galvis’ teammates are on heightened alert, as well.

“I would say so,” Cliff Lee said. “It’s something that’s serious. It’s associated with locker rooms and training rooms, so I think it would be wise for our trainers and staff to clean everything properly and eliminate it.

“Where it came from, who knows, but you have to assume it came from here, so you do what you can to stop it.”

As for the repercussions on the field, Galvis wasn’t the only bench player given word Friday that he will need to start the season on the disabled list. Outfielder/first baseman Darin Ruf had his fears confirmed when an MRI exam Friday showed that the pain he felt in the rib cage after taking a swing in batting practice Thursday was a strained oblique. The severity of it was very similar to that which had Chase Utley on the sidelines for a month last season.

“It could take 4-6 weeks, so he’s going to be on the DL to start the season,” Amaro said of Ruf, who was hitting .217 with two homers and seven RBIs this spring. “It was not a great sign when he was sore this morning.”

Ruf said before he left for his appointment that he’s a side sleeper and he didn’t get much rest because of the soreness.

The losses leave the Phils with some issues to address on their bench. Veteran infielder Kevin Frandsen and outfielder John Mayberry Jr., both right-handed hitters with guaranteed big-league contracts, are pretty much locks, as is veteran backup catcher Wil Nieves. Beyond that, the Phils have to choose between a few non-roster invitees in outfielders Bobby Abreu and Tony Gwynn Jr. — both of whom have had strong springs — and infielders Reid Brignac (a left-handed hitter batting .375 this spring) and Ronny Cedeno (a right-handed hitter batting .211). Three of those four seem destined to be on the 25-man roster Opening Day, although there is a chance that prospect Cesar Hernandez could be kept. Hernandez, a natural second baseman who saw time in center field with the Phils last September, was sent to the minor-league facility Friday to play five innings at shortstop.

Naturally, Hernandez didn’t have any balls hit to him there. According to a team source, there is not much of a gap in fielding ability between Cedeno and Brignac, although the Phils had been playing Brignac more at first, second and third base this spring, since he has had extensive experience at short.

“Someone to play shortstop would be a necessity,” manager Ryne Sandberg said. “I like to use all 25 players. So it’s players who are going to be able to play shortstop and second base and third base.

“(Hernandez) has taken balls there. … We’ll give him some work and some looks.”